Abstract

Objective: This study was designed to determine secular growth among rural children between two ethnic groups (Sisstanish and Non-Sisstanish ) in north of Iran. Methods: We chose 20 villages from 118 by cluster and simple sampling. All of 25-60 months old children in this area were considered in this study. Sample size was 1569 cases (632=Sisstanish and 937=Non- Sisstanish). Height, weight and personal identification were recorded by questioner. BMI percentile and under -1sd, -2sd and -3sd from NCHS were used for comparison. X2 test and T.test were used to analyze by software SPSS. Results: Sisstanish children were 900 g lighter and 4.39 cm taller than non-Sisstanish among all of age groups. T.test is significant between two groups based on weight and height (P<0.05). Stunting and underweight were observed in Sisstanish group 23% and 5.9% respectively more than in non-Sisstanish by -2sd criterion. There is a significant difference between two groups by stunting (P<0.05). Overweight (1.52%) and obesity (12.4%) were shown in Sisstanish group more than in non-Sisstanish group and Statistical differences is significant between them based on obesity (P<0.05). Conclusion: Secular growth in two groups is disproportionate and in Non-Sisstanish group is better than Sisstanish group. Sisstanish children suffer from severe height deficit and BMI high. Thereby, malnutrition is the most health problem in rural area in the north of Iran and nutritional intervention is necessary for solving these problems.